State v. Allen

• Docket Number: DA 22-0651,DA 22-0678,DA 22-0679,DA 22-0680
• Decision Date: 23 April 2024
• Parties: STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. REX WILLIAM ALLEN, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

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STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee,
v.
REX WILLIAM ALLEN, Defendant and Appellant.

Nos. DA 22-0651, DA 22-0678, DA 22-0679, DA 22-0680

Supreme Court of Montana

April 23, 2024

ORDER

Appellant Rex William Allen, via counsel, moves this Court for clarification as to the status of his appeal. Counsel explains that the District Court entered orders while Allen's appeal remained pending in this Court and counsel is unclear as to the effect of those orders and whether they fulfill this Court's objectives in remanding the matter.

On August 31, 2022, the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, sentenced Allen in the four criminal cases he has since appealed. Allen was represented by counsel appointed by the Office of Public Defender (OPD) at that time. Immediately after sentencing, he moved, representing himself, for removal of his current counsel, appointment of new counsel, and leave to withdraw his guilty pleas. The next day, the District Court entered judgment in each case.

On September 19, 2022, Allen, again representing himself, applied for Sentence Review. The Sentence Review Division immediately rejected his application because of his pending motions.

On November 1, 2022, the State moved the District Court for an extension of time to respond to Alien's August 31, 2022 motions, but the District Court denied the State's motion the following day, asserting there were no pending motions in this case. On

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November 3,2022, Allen, representing himself, filed another motion to withdraw his plea. On November 4, 2022, the District Court issued an order that granted the State an extension of time to respond to that motion.

However, while that motion remained pending, Allen petitioned this Court for leave to pursue an out-of-time appeal on November 19, 2022. He further requested appointment of appellate counsel. He advised us that he had discussed filing an appeal with his appointed trial counsel, but counsel did not timely file an appeal in this Court.

On November 22, 2022, Allen's public defender moved to withdraw in the District Court case and the District Court granted the motion. It is unclear as to whether Allen's counsel or the court knew that he had petitioned this Court for out-of-time appeal as Allen's petition is not in the District Court record. On that day, Allen, representing himself, filed two additional motions in the District Court: a motion to appoint counsel, and a motion he captioned as an...